Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping events of the year, providing consumers with the opportunity to purchase products and services at promotional prices. In Brazil, the date has gained increasing importance, generating billions of reais and attracting millions of consumers. Although Brazilian commerce suffered a contraction last year – in 2023, Brazil had its second worst Black Friday in history – the expectation is for better performance this year.
According to research conducted by Google and recently released, at least 62% of Brazilians intend to make some kind of purchase – whether of products or services. At least 76% of consumers intend to buy electronics; another 59% are interested in fashion, while 44% will look for deals related to beauty and personal care. Home items are on the list of 41% of people who intend to take advantage of Black Friday this year.
And, just like in its country of origin, Brazilian Black Friday happens much more in online retail than in physical stores – even though last year's performance wasn't as expected, online commerce registered a 15% increase in online sales revenue compared to 2022, with an average ticket of R$ 676 per customer, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Electronic Commerce (Abcomm). Physical commerce, on the other hand, registered an increase of only 4%, according to Fecomercio.
Given this scenario, it is important for retailers to prepare to serve the online customer – with speed and quality, ensuring that the experience on that date does not detract from the company's reputation with the consumer.
Customer experience (CX) could be a surprise factor on Black Friday in 2024.
During high-volume shopping events like Black Friday, customer experience (CX) becomes even more crucial. Several studies indicate that a good customer experience can increase loyalty, brand value, and consequently, sales. WhatsApp and email remain consumers' preferred channels for receiving offers – as does Instagram, which is widely used by SME retailers.
Another channel that has experienced tremendous growth in Brazil is RCS, or the SMS of the future, which has seen a 358% increase worldwide. With technology ensuring the security of SMS messages at their origin, text messages can also be leveraged to deliver personalized offers.
In the online world, the most important thing is to ensure that the consumer has a fast and omnichannel experience, no matter where they are in their journey – or what their original channel is. This means having customer service channels that function with the same agility – there's no point in having a telesales service if the waiting time will cause the customer to abandon the purchase, or a WhatsApp service that doesn't provide answers at the time of contact. Therefore, it is essential to reinforce and train the team during the promotional period – not just for one day – but extending for up to two weeks or the entire month of November – to ensure that the customer experience is not the reason for shopping cart abandonment.
In addition to the team, of course, offering self-service options with chatbots and intelligent IVRs, which relieve the burden on human customer service and provide quick resolutions to the most common customer questions. Some Brazilian companies even offered 24/7 automated and human customer service during this period – after all, many offers and promotions are broadcast during the early morning hours.
Personalization is also a strategy that can lead to more conversions – with offers and recommendations created based on the consumer's browsing behavior and purchase history. Artificial intelligence tools can provide a more relevant and satisfying shopping experience for the consumer, as well as trigger offers to the customer's communication channels at relevant moments in their buying journey.
The infrastructure needs to be ready.
It's clear that having a service ready to meet demand is a key factor, provided that the infrastructure and logistical processes don't become a bottleneck – otherwise, you'll be offering your customer an excellent channel for complaints. Therefore, ensuring that the technological infrastructure meets the demand is essential to guarantee a successful purchasing journey.
Still on this topic, it is necessary to strengthen the logistics infrastructure to meet the demand during this period – without delays in promised deadlines, and with guaranteed delivery even in more remote locations. Widespread delivery coverage and a well-distributed network should ensure that there are no operational bottlenecks.
Finally, price transparency is essential. According to Google, consumers began searching for desired Black Friday items in July – meaning that, more than ever, customers are monitoring prices and discounts to see if a store is truly offering a good deal. Furthermore, several websites also monitor prices, reporting pricing practices that did not reflect genuine discounts.
It's important to remember that Black Friday isn't just a sales opportunity, but also a chance to strengthen customer relationships. After all, a positive shopping experience is the real surprise factor that can transform occasional customers into repeat buyers.
